Auto-signal.



A. MORAND.

AUYO SIGNAL.

APPLICATION mun unzr, new

1,283,263. Patented Oct. 29 1918.

uvvmpn lhlhaulfamwd BY I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR MORAND, 0F BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA.

AUTO-SIGNAL.

T0 (Ill whom it may ram-err:

.Be it known that I. .hrrntin MonANn, a citizen of the l'nited States. residing at Bakersfield. in the want of Kern and State of California. have invented a new and useful Auto-Signal of which the following is a speeifieation.

This invention relates to a direction indieat'or for auto-vehieles and au'tienlarl pertains to an indieator \\lllt'll embodies a horizontally swinging signal arm titted with eleetrie lights.

It is the ohjeet of this invention to pro vide a (lireetion indicator of the ahove eharaeter whit-h may he readily applied to Va rious types of auto vehieles and easily aetuated to denote the direetion the rehiele is to he turned. and whieh -ohviates the neees sity of extending the arm to designate the direetion of turn.

Another ohjeet is to provide a signal arm whieh may also serve as a tail light and a lieense plate earrier. thus emhod ving three aeeessories in one attaelnnent and thereby eonomizing spare as well as eost.

A further ohjeet is to provide a signal arm so eonstrueted that a single eleetrie light therein will illuminate a tail light. diree tion indirating lights and also a tixed lit'ense plate irres a-etire of movement or position of the signal arm.

other ohjeet. will appear hereinafter.

The invention is illustrated in the aeeompalrving drawings. in whieh:

Figure l is aview ol the rear end of an automobile showing the invention as applied. V

Fig. 2 is a detail illustrating the eontrolling deviee on the vehiele steering wheel eolumn.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal seetion and plan view of the si naling arm.

Fig. tis a view in vertieal seetion and ele vation of same.

Fig. 5 is a view in diagram illustrating the eonstruetion and arrangement of the meelmnisnl for operating the signal arm.

Tn earr \'ing out my invention. a tuhular roek-shat't G is mounted in suitallle hearings on the steering wheel eolnnm 7 ol the vehiele and is fitted with a handle R on its upper end. This handle ma he arranged eonvenient for engagement lrv the knees of the driver-so that the roelc shal't ina he nnlnipnlated without using the hands. thus leaving the hands free for other purposes.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Get. 29, 1918.

as operating the steering wheel or other eontrolling mechanism of the. vehicle. l have here shown the handle as pivoted to the j melt-shaft so that it ma) he swung verti- 60 rally into engagement with a clip 9 when not; in use.

The lower end of the roek shaft eonneets through a suitable joint wilh a shaft 11 extending upwardly through a lll'iltlflt, hear- 5 ing 12 mounted on the left rear tender 1 ot' the vehiele. whirh hearing is adapted "to form a support for a lieense plate It hv forming it with a pair of ehannehal lugs 1a,. and ltt hetween whit-h the plate is insertihle and engaged at its upper and lower edges.

A serew 17 further seeures the plate to the hraeket hearing.

lhe essence of the present invention resides in a signal arm 18 attaehed .to the up 76 per end of the Shaft 11. \vhieh is here shown as eonstrueted with an ohlong reetangular hoxdilce easing provided with a removahle top lid lt the lifting of whieh will give aeeess to the interior of the easing. eireular red pane 20 is mounted in one end wall of the easing and eorres mnding red panes 21 and 22 are arranged opposite eaeh other in the easing side walls adjaeent to the end pane 2t]. (irenlar green panes 23 and 24 B5 are mounted in the easing side walls adia rent to the opposite end of the easing and are spat-ed from the red panes 21 and "2'2. lnterposed hel ween the side red and green 7 panes on eaeh side of the easing are arrow-. shaped panes 2S and 20. the head portions of whieh point toward the red panes.

Formed in the hottom ol' the easing adja rent to the red panes is a reetangular opening 27 the sides of whieh are fitted with rlivergenl rel'leetor plates spider 2%) con neets these plates and the easing to the up per portion of the shal't ll ahove the hearing l2. lhe shaft is thus attaehed to the easing to one side of the renter ol the latter and near one end thereof.

n eleetrie hulh t" is mountedon the upper end of the shal'l ll and is positioned within the easing eentrally ol' the opening 27 and near the red panes. so that light emitted therel'rom will he visihle through said panes. Angular relleetors 31 are arranged hark of the green panes so as to direet light ays from the hnlh through the latter. llleetrieal eonduetors 32 and &2, lead from the hulh through the tnhnlar t'tlt'h shaft 11 and rod llfl: the eonduttor 32 eonneeling with one terminal of a battery It and the eondurtor 33 leading to a sn'iteh 235 on the llielt shaft i from \vhieh a eondnetor iit'i leads to the other terminal of the batter through an indieator light bulb 37 mounted eonvenient to the driver. The hulh ST is provided to indi- (ate the condition of the elt('tli(' eirenit through the bulb 30. being disposed in series with the latter.

The easing is arranged on the. ltltlt shaft 11 to normally extend parallel with the fen der 13 with the end red pane 20 facing rear ward of the vehiele to form a tail light flanked on eaeh side by a side light.

in the operation of the invention. to illuminate the signal arm. the swileh 3.3 is operated to elose the eleetrie eirenit through the eleetrie hnlhs. this being done as oeeasion may require. To signal persons in the rear. the direetion in \vhieh the vehiele is to turn, the. handle 8 is nio't'ed to the side to operate the signal arm through the Hit'lt shaft rod 10. and rot-h vshatt ll. to move the signal arni transverse of the tender with the arron' pointing in the desired dirertion. The signal arm will then extend as iudieated in dotted lines in Fig. 2). After the turn has been made. the signal arm is 1't.\itIl't'(l to its normal position.

'hen the bulb 30 is illuminated. light will he direeted downward y the refleelors is onto the lieense plate through the opening 27. irrespertive of the position oi' 'the signal arm. as the opening and retleetors extend on three sides of the lamp. light will also pass through the tail light pane 2t) and through all the side panes. liv this arrangement one light will serve a triple purpose. Viv... to illuminate the lirense plate. the tail lamp and the signal arm.

it \\'ill be observed that the devire herein set forth provides a tail light. a holder for a lieense plate, and a direetion indieat'or all in one strueture \vhieh may be readily and eheapl) attarhed to an automobile and easily operated.

l rlaiin:

1. In a direetion indieator, a lireuse plate holding braeket. a shaft extending therethrongh, a bo.\'-lilte signal arm rigid on said shaft amt tnrnable relative to the bracket having an opening in the bottom thereof, a lamp on -ai=l shaft arranged to throw light through said opening onto a plate on the hraeket. a tail light pane on the end of said arm. direetion indicating panes on the sides of said arm. and means for roeking the shaft in either direetiou.

2. In a direetion indicator, a license )late holding braeket. a shaft extendin therethrongh. a box-like signal arm rigi on said shaft and turnable relative to the bracket having an opening in the bottom thereof, retleelor plates on the edge of said opening. a lamp arranged to throw light through said opening onto a plate on the braeltet, a tail light pane on the end of said arm. direction indicating panes on the sides of said arm. and means for turning the shaft. in either direetion.

ii. In a direetiou iudieator for vehicles. a \el'tirnl ltilli shaft, :1 boX-lihe signal arm rigid thereon having a bottom opening snr rounding its eonneetion to said roeleshaft, a tail light pane -in one end wall of the arm. red side panes. green side panes spaced from the red panes. a lamp on the shaft ar ranged Within the arm above the openin". and relleetors for directing light. from the lamp through the green panes.

'1.-ln a direet ion indicator, a tubular bracket. a lieense plate thereon, a shaft extending vertieall throngh said bracket, a hox lil e signal arm attaehed intermediate its ends to said shaft to turn horizontally relative to said hraeket. having an opening in the bottom thereof. and a lamp on said shatt".\vithin the arm arranged to throw light downwardly through the opening onto the lieense plate.

5. 'In a direetion indicator. a tnbnlar lH'iitlttt. a lieense plate thereon. a shaft extending through said bracket, a spider fixed on said shaft above the bracket. :1 box-like signal arm rigidly attaehed to said spider. and having a bottom opening spanned by the spider. and a lamp on said shaft arranged to throiv light. downwardly through the opening onto the lieense plate.

ARTHUR MOR AND. 

